Give Your Nose a Hug and Learn a New Vocabulary Word: Pthalates

I can’t believe it has been four months since I flew to San Francisco for the Method Summit where I was able to meet the people behind the Method brand. Not only did I have a wonderful time, I got to learn about the mission, goals, and ideology that make the Method company so frigging awesome. Yeah, I went there.

They are the scrappy little start up that could. Do you have any idea how hard it is to break into the CPG (consumer packaged good) industry? Especially in the cleaning field where most consumers buy products based solely on learned habits. Be honest, how many of you buy the same cleaners as your parents? Those scents and memories are powerful and it takes an amazing amount of effort to change long standing habits.

While I was at the summit, they had the attendees take part in a photo-shoot and doesn’t it just figure that the best picture (in my opinion) ever taken of me, has me hugging a freakishly large nose? Seriously? Whatever. You take what you get, I suppose. (It’s amazing what a little good lighting and professional make-up can do)

But the summit wasn’t all just fun (ok, it was all fun because I’m a big chemistry dork and I truly love learning about the science behind the method product line). What do you know about pthalates? Are they something you are conscious of when you make purchasing decisions*?

Pthalates are most commonly used to make plastics more flexible, but because of the chemical structure of this compound, pthalates quickly end up in the environment and there is increasing concern about cumulative pthalate exposure. Sure, a little bit isn’t anything to freak out about, you can’t avoid them completely. That said, pthalates are endocrine (hormone) disruptors and there is potentially a link between the increase in pthalate exposure and the increased incidence of obesity. (I’ve told y’all not to microwave in plastic, right? Pthalates are why plastic, even microwavable plastic isn’t the best idea.)

The Method brand wants to assure you that they choose pthalate free formulas and plastics for their products. Additionally, their dish cleaners include derivatives from coconut oil, aloe vera, and purified water. So when you choose Method, you’re not increasing the amount of pthalates in your home or the water supply. That’s pretty cool.

One of my favorite things about Method is that while they completely understand the importance of creating the most ecologically product possible, they don’t really care if that is the reason you choose Method. They didn’t stop at eco-friendly, they wanted to create a product consumers would choose because: it works, it is beautiful, and because it smells nice.